This past July, the NYC Department of Parks & Recreation, Juniper Park Civic Association, RCN & Commerce Bank presented the 2007 Juniper Valley Park Concert Series, which once again was a huge hit. The weather was accommodating for all concerts, held on Tuesday evenings.
The Mary Lamont Band kicked off the series on July 10th, bringing a little bit of country to Middle Village. While they performed, line dancers took the opportunity to kick up their heels. Called the “Queen of Long Island Country” by Newsday and Christian Science Monitor, Mary Lamont’s band was voted Band of the Year by the New York Metro Country Music Association, and Mary was twice voted Female Singer/Songwriter of the Year by the New Jersey Country Music Association. Visit www.marylamont.com for more info about this band.
Next up was Shadetree Mechanics on July 18th who were a whole lotta fun. They played blues, funk and soul music that got people up out of their chairs to dance. Named after an old ZZ Hill tune, these guys really smoked!! The Shadetree Mechanics have been stirring up the music scene and making a name for themselves in the New York metropolitan area playing such venues as B.B. King's Blues Club and the South Street Seaport. Visit members.aol.com/smechanics/stm.html for more info about this band.
Tuesday, July 24th brought J. Walter Hawkes Quartet to Juniper Park for the very first time. The band had been booked to play during our last concert series, but was rained out – twice! They played both mellow and upbeat jazz and swing tunes that brought back many wonderful memories of life in a gentler time. J. Walter Hawkes has been playing ukulele and trombone in NYC since 1995. He has played and/or recorded with such luminaries as Slide Hampton, Bob Hope, The Temptations, Norah Jones, and Ray Charles. Visit www.blatomaster.com for more info about this band.
The concert series ended on Tuesday, July 31st with German Night. die Schlauberger headlined the event. They played upbeat German flavored music and even did a Beach Boys medley. dSb are the only band of their genre to perform a show and sing the American National Anthem in front of 50,000 fans at Shea Stadium, and have since been invited back on four more occasions. They headline Oktoberfests across the country, and are regular musical guests at Atlas Park shopping center. Visit www.schlauberger.com for more info about this band.
The Juniper Park Civic Association was proud to co-sponsor this series, and looks forward to bringing you more park events in the near future.
